Sunday, March 7, 2010

Spread Offense

As I've mentioned recently I have become extremely drawn to fine European tailoring much more so than usual. My decidedly American wardrobe is great and all, but my current desire to add a little diversity by way of our sartorial brethren from across the pond has been very strong. Since I have no need, and no means for that matter, to start buying up suits I figured I would start looking at some dress shirts.

Most of my shirts, both dress and sport alike, are button down collar and while they are something every guy should have in his closet a spread or cutaway collar seems like a real bold alternative right about now. The flair and personality of the spread collar has this great aesthetic appeal that the button down collar cannot match (take into account different strokes for different folks). It's not so much an argument or competition in my mind as it is an attitude thing. Certain kits just call for something other than a white bread, standard button down. Phineas Cole, Paul Stewart's "younger" more fitted line, has some S/S shirting that looks pretty damn tasty and the collection is flush with the kind of collars you'd see all over The Sartorialist. The only downside is the obvious - the prices reflect the Paul Stewart name and are north of $200 a shirt. Anyhow, these vibrant stripes, gingham's and tattersall's would work quite well during the 9-5 and after (a look you can often catch Bastian in).

Do they make ties chunky enough to fit the collar? If so, the knot would be as wide as my head. Semi-spread is as far as I'll go, and I have to agree with OS & LW. You either look cooky (see Shannon Sharpe) or just plain dumb (that other half-time guy I don't know). Somethings are best left for the Europeans, especially if you already have a developed style that doesn't steer you towards chunky tie knots.

Win and L.A.S.:Truly delighted to be called short-sighted, provincial, and a sartorial racist. Keep it up, guys: Makes me know that I must be doing something right.Longwing: "Underdeveloped sense of style"? Who needs development? If it ain't broke, don't develop it.

OldSchool said... "Tolerable at a distance when worn by the likes of Prince Charles and Italians."

.......You forgot Douglas Fairbanks....he was American wasn't he?(Charles useally wears the modified spread btw) ....The Phineas spreads are a bit too extreme for me (and a rip off pricewise although their color combos are great)....I'm sure if you surfed around the Brit shirt companies have something similar that won't overburden your purse

All my dress shirts are spread or cutaway. That looks best on me with my ties. Most of my casual shirts have button down collars. I really prefer a button down collar in the absence of a tie.

The Phineas line is interesting. Love Paul Stuart. Have on suit from there; It's simply bliss. Those collars a bit stark for my taste, but I'd likely buy one to try. I would not want to sport the bow tie with it though.

I've got a round face, and find that the spread works much better for me. These are way spread, check out the likes of S. Kuhlman for example. I'm not a huge fan of their less traditional patterns, but some of their solids and checks are really top notch. Price wise, pretty reasonable.

Those look awesome, I'm not sure I could pull it off. I stick mostly to spread collars that aren't quite as spread. Similar to how the former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan always looked very smart: http://2fm.rte.ie/blogs/colm_jim_jims_blogggggg/Kofi_Annan.jpg